admin @ Wed, 2006-09-06 11:00
In fact, the only controversial moment came during the audience question-and-answer section when one lady tried to pose the question to Mayor Allan Mansoor that appeared in this column that morning.
Peter Buffa, who did an outstanding job moderating the event, interrupted her twice to tell her to get to her question. I'm not sure he realized that there was a question coming and that if he just left her alone, he could have saved us all a lot of time and drama.
The other high point was a personal one. It came in response to the same lady's question to which the mayor responded in part by calling this column "garbage."
One was when he was recounting how as a boy in Costa Mesa he used to ride his bicycle to Baskin-Robbins for ice cream and Schaefer, who is a big fellow, said, "I guess you can see that I spent a lot of time there."
The other great line was when he related one question to the insurance business he owns in the city and he wondered whether, given our general attitudes toward insurance companies and their representatives, he should have mentioned his line of work.
It didn't matter that he sold insurance. Schaefer held most of the crowd in his hands most of the night, regardless of which position on the illegal immigration issue they took.
Throughout the evening, two of the six candidates were harping on the presence of three illegal immigrant sex offenders who were discovered living in the city.
Burciaga, clearly and correctly annoyed by this cheap ploy, said approximately that she wished they'd get off the subject of the three and start being more concerned about the other "97" sex offenders who are here legally.
Other candidates reminded us the mayor has not led the charge to fill the Police Department's 17 empty slots, which would certainly assist in reducing the city's crime and help keep tabs on sex offenders, legal or illegal.
Candidate Bruce Garlich, whose command of the facts on the city's development issues was unmatched, made another healthy impression. In fact, no one else came close.
Even though I strongly disagree with Garlich on the past proposal to plunk a Kohl's department store in the Mesa Verde shopping center, I appreciated that he came prepared.
That night, Burciaga helped me define a personal guideline for choosing candidates for political office, not just here in our cities, but anywhere.
One element of that value is that they started the business in the first place. That should say to all of us that the candidate has the higher level of ambition and drive that is necessary to lead. It also demonstrates their ability to see a difficult task through to completion.
Starting and operating a small business also puts a candidate closer to the bureaucratic process and gives him or her a deeper understanding and appreciation of the sacrifices in life that one has to make in order to achieve greater control over one's destiny.
A business owner has a greater understanding of the value and power of money, has to negotiate on a daily basis and has to manage people and customers on a daily basis.
The business ownership is a plus, but not necessarily one on which I would insist as a qualification. All other things being equal, however, I would vote for the business owner.
The other qualification is one that from now on I insist in a candidate. Thanks to last week's forum, I will not vote for anyone in a potential leadership position who is not or has not been a parent.
Candidate Wendy Leece mentioned her five children several times that night, as did the other candidates who are parents. That alone will tell you about the mark that one's children make on one's life. There is no substitute for the experience of being a parent.
Throughout history, organizations that include churches, synagogues, tribes and other councils, have filled their leadership ranks with people who are or have been a parent.
STEVE SMITH is a Costa Mesa resident and a freelance writer. Readers may leave a message for him on the Daily Pilot hotline at (714) 966-4664 or send story ideas to dailypilot@latimes.com .
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